Young people from across Hampton Roads shared colorful visions of bold astronauts, interplanetary space travel and roving robots in the 2014 NASA Langley Research Center art contest.

Student artists in grades k-12 from the cities of Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Newport News, Hampton, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Poquoson, Williamsburg and the counties of York, Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City and Mathews were invited to submit works on the theme of “The Future is Now.”

“The idea was for young artists to take technologies that once seemed far away and explore how they were becoming reality today,” said Kristina Ruhlman, public outreach specialist for the center.

The grand prize winner was Tabb High School junior Rachel Pike who submitted an image of a space walk titled "The Rainbow Nebula."

First-place winners include Nina May of Rosemont Forest Elementary School in Virginia Beach, Samantha Wilhelm of Coventry Elementary School in Yorktown, Savannah Gizaw of Portsmouth Catholic Regional School, Angela Preisach of Christ the King Catholic School in Norfolk, Veronica Alverez of St. Gregory the Great Catholic School in Virginia Beach, Logan McConnell of Butts Road Intermediate in Chesapeake, Desirea Sievers of Portsmouth Catholic Regional School, Kylie Hunt of St. John the Apostle Catholic School in Virginia Beach, Libby Fickel of St. John the Apostle Catholic School and Jamaica Carby of Phoebus High School in Hampton.

Organizers received 334 entries. They were judged by a five-member panel made up of center professionals and a local schoolteacher. The first-place works will be displayed at the Virginia Air & Space Center.

Art Contest Winners

Kindergarten

1st Place

Nina May

Rosemont Forest Elementary School

2nd Place

Keely Chambers

Virginia Beach Friends School

3rd Place

Kaylei Pitts

Coventry Elementary School

Honorable Mention

Zoe Birtolacci

Virginia Beach Friends School

Honorable Mention

Sophia O'Connor

Virginia Beach Friends School

1st Grade

1st Place

Samantha Wilhelm

Coventry Elementary School

2nd Place

Tyjah James

Coventry Elementary School

3rd Place

Varun Kudva

Richneck Elementary School

Honorable Mention

Izarra Mitchell

Christ the King Catholic School

Honorable Mention

Rachel Shaffer

Granby Elementary

2nd Grade

1st Place

Savannah Gizaw

Portsmouth Catholic Regional School

2nd Place

Savannah Holmes

Christ the King Catholic School

3rd Place

Collie Hudson

Portsmouth Catholic Regional School

Honorable Mention

Channing Lee

Portsmouth Catholic Regional School

Honorable Mention

Jack Schulz

Christ the King Catholic School

3rd Grade

1st Place

Angela Preisach

Christ the King Catholic School

2nd Place

Ella Basak

Coventry Elementary School

3rd Place

Rebecca Basak

Coventry Elementary School

Honorable Mention

Matt Rakowski

St. Gregory the Great Catholic School

Honorable Mention

Nala White

Norfolk Christian

4th Grade

1st Place

Veronica Alvarez

St. Gregory the Great Catholic School

2nd Place

Zachary Ching

St. John the Apostle Catholic School

3rd Place

Rachel Gizaw

Portsmouth Catholic Regional School

Honorable Mention

Brandon Runner

St. John the Apostle Catholic School

Honorable Mention

Caitlin Thaeler

Christ the King Catholic School

Honorable Mention

Tim Zemienieuski

Portsmouth Catholic Regional School

Honorable Mention

Emma Krooner

Virginia Beach Friends School

5th Grade

1st Place

Logan McConnell

Butts Road Intermediate

2nd Place

Emma Haddad

Mount Pleasant Christian School

3rd Place

Gracie Solomon

Homeschool

Honorable Mention

Lauren Young

Coventry Elementary School

Honorable Mention

Zachary Smith

Christ the King Catholic School

6th Grade

1st Place

Desirae Sievers

Portsmouth Catholic Regional School

2nd Place

Jasmine Penalosa

Portsmouth Catholic Regional School

3rd Place

Michael Donegan

Portsmouth Catholic Regional School

Honorable Mention

Hunter Ruder

Hines Middle School

7th Grade

1st Place

Kylie Hunt

St. John the Apostle Catholic School

2nd Place

Bryson Dorsey

Portsmouth Catholic Regional School

3rd Place

Gage Bass

Portsmouth Catholic Regional School

Honorable Mention

Quin Lutz

Portsmouth Catholic Regional School

Honorable Mention

Anton Torralba

St. John the Apostle Catholic School

8th Grade

1st Place

Libby Fickel

St. John the Apostle Catholic School

2nd Place

Samantha Simmons

St. John the Apostle Catholic School

3rd Place

Rhonda Walker

Hines Middle School

Honorable Mention

Grace Eberhard

St. John the Apostle Catholic School

Honorable Mention

Sydney Becket

Virginia Beach Friends School

Honorable Mention

Rachel Darley

Portsmouth Catholic Regional School

Honorable Mention

Ben Murphy

St. John the Apostle Catholic School

9th Grade

1st Place

Jamaica Carby

Phoebus High School

11th Grade

1st Place

Rachel Pike

Tabb High School

Sam McDonald
NASA Langley Research Center

The grand prize winner was Tabb High School junior Rachel Pike who submitted an image of a colorful space walk.